[ecrea] New book - Public Access ICT across Cultures

Public Access ICT across Cultures**: Diversifying Participation in the
Network Society *
Edited by Francisco J Proenza

Shared public access to computers and the Internet in developing
countries is often hailed as an effective, low-cost way to share the
benefits of digital technology. Yet research on the economic and social
effects of public access to computers is lacking. This volume offers the
first systematic assessment of the impact of shared public access in the
developing world, with findings from ten countries in South America,
Asia, and Africa. It provides evidence that the benefits of diversified
participation in digital society go beyond providing access to
technology. Public access venues—most often Internet cafés in cities
and state-run telecenters in rural areas—are places for learning,
sharing, working, empowerment and finding opportunities.

The book documents the impact of public access on individuals, on
society and networks, and on women. Chapters report findings and examine
policy implications of research on such topics as users’ perceptions
of the benefits of Internet café use in Jordan; ICT job training in
Rwanda; understanding user motivations and risk factors for overuse and
Internet addiction in China; the effect of technology use on social
inclusion among low-income urban youth in Argentina; productive uses of
technologies by grassroots organizations in Peru; use of technology by
migrant ethnic minority Burmese women in Thailand to maintain ties with
their culture and their family and friends; and women’s limited access
to the most ubiquitous type of venue, cybercafés, in practically all
countries studied—and quite severely in some places, e.g. Uttar
Pradesh, India.
*
Contributing Editors: *Erwin A. Alampay, Roxana Barrantes Cáceres,
Hernan Galperin, Abiodun Jagun, George Sciadas, Ramata Molo Thioune,
Kentaro Toyama

*Chapter author: *Ali Farhan AbuSeileek, Carolina Aguerre,
Oluwasefunmi ‘Tale Arogundade, Nor Aziah Alias, Sebastián Benítez
Larghi, Jorge Bossio, Juan Fernando Bossio, Marina Laura Calamari, Nikos
Dacanay, Jean Damascène Mazimpaka, Laurent Aristide Eyinga Eyinga, Mary
Luz Feranil, Ariel Fontecoba, Omar Fraihat, Martin S. Hagger, Jianbin
Hao, Sulaiman Hashim, Izaham Shah Ismail, Haziah Jamaludin, Xuemei
Jiang, Laura León, Guoxin Li, Balwant Singh Mehta, Nidhi Mehta, Marina
Moguillansky, Marhaini Mohd Noor, Avis Momeni, Théodomir Mugiraneza,
Jimena Orchuela, Patricia Peña Miranda, Alejandra Phillippi, Jimena
Ponce de León, Ghaleb Rabab’ah, Saif Addeen AlRababah, Wei Shang,
Ryan V. Silverio, Sylvie Siyam Siwe, Efenita M. Taqueban, Olga Balbine
Tsafack Nguekeng, Xiaoguang Yang*
*

*About the Editor*: Francisco J. Proenza spent thirty-five years as an
economist for international development agencies. He is now Visiting
Professor of Information and Communication Technology at Universitat
Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.*
*

*Endorsements*

“/Public Access ICT across Cultures/ provides an important reminder
that the digital divide has now deepened to become a social knowledge
divide and that the provision of public access is as important as ever
as a means of increasing social and economic capital. This book is
essential reading for several audiences, including educators,
researchers, community leaders, community developers, and especially
policymakers. Such a wide-ranging audience will ensure that many
communities benefit from the research findings in the book, making it an
even more fitting dedication to the work and memory of Amy Mahan.”
—*Stewart Marshall*, Emeritus Professor, The University of the West
Indies Open Campus, Barbados

“In the age of the personal and the social, this tome provides
scholars evidence from a range of low- and middle-income countries of
the role of public access ICTs in their achievement. Equally compelling
for policymakers are prescriptions for achieving instrumental
developmental objectives, particularly for marginalized populations.”
—*Arul Chib*, Director, Singapore Internet Research Center, Nanyang
Technological University

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